[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2879-2880]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-896]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Notice of Availability of a Technical Agency Draft Recovery Plan 
for Six Mobile Basin Aquatic Snails for Review and Comment

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of document availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability 
of the technical agency draft recovery plan for six Mobile Basin 
aquatic snails. The six snails included in the recovery plan are: the 
endangered cylindrical lioplax (Lioplax cyclostomaformis), flat 
pebblesnail (Lepyriam showalteri), and plicate rocksnail (Leptoxis 
ampla); and the threatened painted rocksnail (Leptoxis taeniata), round 
rocksnail (Leptoxis ampla), and lacy elimia (Elimia crenatella). All 
are endemic to the Mobile River Basin (Basin) where they inhabit 
shoals, rapids and riffles of large streams and rivers above the Fall 
Line. All six species have disappeared from more than 90 percent of 
their historic ranges as a result of impoundment, channelization, 
mining, dredging, and pollution from point and non-point sources. The 
technical agency draft recovery plan includes specific recovery 
objectives and criteria to be met in order to reclassify (downlist) the 
cylindrical lioplax, flat pebblesnail, and plicate rocksnail to 
threatened species and for the eventual delisting of all six species 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We solicit 
review and comment on this technical agency draft recovery plan from 
local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public.

DATES: In order to be considered, we must receive comments on the 
technical agency draft recovery plan on or before March 21, 2005.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review this technical agency draft recovery 
plan, you may obtain a copy by contacting the Jackson, Mississippi 
Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View 
Parkway, Jackson, MS 39213 (telephone (601) 965-4900), or by visiting 
our recovery plan Web site at http://endangered.fws.gov/recovery/index.html#plans. If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments 
by any one of several methods:
    1. You may submit written comments and materials to the Field 
Supervisor, at the above address.
    2. You may hand-deliver written comments to our Jackson, 
Mississippi Field Office, at the above address, or fax your comments to 
(601) 965-4900.
    3. You may send comments by e-mail to [email protected]. For 
directions on how to submit electronic filing of comments, see the 
``Public Comments Solicited'' section.
    Comments and materials received are available for public inspection 
on request, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Hartfield (Telephone 601-321-
1125).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 28, 1998 (63 FR 57610), we listed six aquatic snails, in 
the Mobile River Basin, as threatened (painted rocksnail, round 
rocksnail, lacy elimina) or endangered (cylindrical lioplax, flat 
pebblesnail, plicate rocksnail) under the Act. These six snails are 
endemic to portions of the Mobile River Basin in central Alabama. The 
cylindrical lioplax, flat pebblesnail, and round rocksnail are found in 
the Cahaba River drainage; the lacy elimina and painted rocksnail are 
in the Coosa River drainage; and the plicate rocksnail is in the Black 
Warrior River drainage. These snails require rock, boulder, or cobble 
substrates and clean, unpolluted water and are found on shoals and 
riffles of large streams and rivers. Impoundment and water quality 
degradation have eliminated the six snails from 90 percent or more of 
their historic habitat. Known populations are restricted to small 
portions of stream drainages. These surviving populations are currently 
threatened by pollutants such as sediments and nutrients that wash into 
streams from the land surface.
    Restoring an endangered or threatened animal or plant to the point 
where it is again a secure, self-sustaining member of its ecosystem is 
a primary goal of the endangered species program. To help guide the 
recovery effort, we are preparing recovery plans for most listed 
species. Recovery plans describe actions considered necessary

[[Page 2880]]

for conservation of the species, establish criteria for downlisting or 
delisting, and estimate time and cost for implementing recovery 
measures.
    The Act requires the development of recovery plans for listed 
species, unless such a plan would not promote the conservation of a 
particular species. Section 4(f) of the Act requires us to provide a 
public notice and an opportunity for public review and comment during 
recovery plan development. We will consider all information presented 
during a public comment period prior to approval of each new or revised 
recovery plan. We and other Federal agencies will take these comments 
into account in the course of implementing approved recovery plans.
    The objective of this technical agency draft plan is to provide a 
framework for the recovery of these six aquatic snails so that 
protection under the Act is no longer necessary. As reclassification 
and recovery criteria are met, the status of these species will be 
reviewed and they will be considered for reclassification or removal 
from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants 
(50 CFR part 17).

Public Comments Solicited

    We solicit written comments on the recovery plan described. We will 
consider all comments received by the date specified above prior to 
final approval of the draft recovery plan.
    Please submit electronic comments as an ASCII file format and avoid 
the use of special characters and encryption. Please also include your 
name and return address in your e-mail message. If you do not receive a 
confirmation from the system that we have received your e-mail message, 
contact us directly by calling our Mississippi Field Office (see 
ADDRESSES section).
    Our practice is to make all comments, including names and home 
addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular 
business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold 
their home addresses from the record, which we will honor to the extent 
allowable by law. In some circumstances, we would withhold also from 
the rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If 
you wish for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state 
this prominently at the beginning of your comments. However, we will 
not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

Authority

    The authority for this action is section 4(f) of the Endangered 
Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1533 (f).

    Dated: December 15, 2004.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director, Southeast Region.
[FR Doc. 05-896 Filed 1-14-05; 8:45 am]
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